Psoralea corylifolia (Fruit)

BAKUCI
Bakuci consists of dry ripe fruits of Psoralea corylifolia Linn. (Fam. Leguminosae), an erect, 0.3-1.8 m high annual herb.

SYNONYMS
Sanskrit : Avalguja, Somariji
Assamese : Habucha
Bengali : Bakuchi, Somraji, Hakucha Veeja
English : —
Gujrati : Bavachi
Hindi : Babchi, Bavachi, Bakuchi
Kannada : Bauchige, Bhavantibeeja, Bhavanchigid, Baukuchi
Kashmiri : Babchi
Malayalam : Karkokil
Marathi : Bawchi
Oriya : Bakuchi
Punjabi : Babchi, Bavchi
Tamil : Karpokarisi, Karpogalarisi, Karbogalarisi
Telugu : Bavanchalu
Urdu : Babchi

DESCRIPTION

a) Macroscopic
Fruits, dark chocolate to almost black with pericarp adhering to the seed-coat, 3-4.5 mm long, 2-3 mm broad, ovoid-oblong or bean shaped, some what compressed, glabrous rounded or mucronate, closely pitted, seeds campylotropous, nonendospermous, oily and free from starch, odourless, but when chewed smell of a pungent essential oil felt, taste, bitter, unpleasant and acrid.

b) Microscopic
Transverse section of fruit shows periocarp witb prominent ridges and depressions, consisting of collapsed parenchyma and large secretory glands containing oleo-resinous matter testa, an outer layer of palisade epidermis, layer of bearer cells which are much thickened in the inner tangential and basal radial walls and 2-3 layers of parenchyma, cotyledons of polyhedral parenchyma and three layers of palisade cells on the adaxial side.

CONSTITUENTS – Essential oil, fixed oil, Psoralen , psoralidin, isopsoralen and bakuchiol.

PROPERTIES AND ACTION
Rasa : Katu, Tikta
Guna : Ruksha
Virya : Shita(Cold)
Vipaka : Katu
Karma : Grihi, sleshmisrapittanut, Vranipaha, Hridya.

IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS – Somariji Taila, Avalgujidi Lepa

THERAPEUTIC USES – Jvara, Krimiroga(Antihelmenthic), Kushtha, Meha, svitra

DOSE – 3-6 g of the drug in powder form.